Australia Blog
News and rising stars from YouTube Australia
The Video Page Gets a Makeover
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
From the Queen of England to the queen of your 'hood, from aspiring filmmakers to Hollywood studios, from high school graduation videos to citizen reports of revolutionary moments in Iran, it all has a home on YouTube. This creates a really big challenge: how do we design a site that reflects so many different users, experiences and videos? This is a question we've thought about a lot since we launched in 2005. The result of some of this thinking (some might say over-thinking) is a video page chock-full of features that reflect a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but can feel cluttered and a little overwhelming. We've spent a lot of time over the last 10 months asking ourselves some tough questions about this page and posing some of those questions to you in blog posts, roundtable discussions, one-on-one conversations with the community and even on forums like our
Product Ideas for YouTube
page.
Today, we're excited to unveil the first major example of our efforts to simplify and streamline the video page to offer the best possible watching experience to you. To check out this new look all you have to do is opt-in. Click on
this link
to try it out (anyone can opt-in, but for now page elements are only in English). To revert back to the old video page, use the opt-out link at the top of the new video page or opt out
here
. We'll be making the opt-in more easily accessible soon, but we wanted to give our most passionate users a chance to experiment with it early.
Below are some highlights of some of the things that have changed and why. You can also check out our "
Getting Started Guide
" in the Help Center.
Streamlined look and functionality -- the video is the star:
This concept is at the heart of the redesign. YouTube is about creating and watching the world's biggest video collection; therefore, the design should make the video the star. To that end, the new look is more subdued, stripped down and simple than before. The design should help ease users into advanced features, while providing power users with all the functionality they want.
New "next up" video list:
We'll be smarter about queuing up other videos for you to watch on the right side of the page that will take into consideration how you found a video. For example, if you arrived at a video through Search, the rest of the search results will follow you to the playback page so your can continue to browse search results on the video page. The same goes for playlists and recommendations; if that's how you found a video, then that's what will show up on the right side of the page. Again, this is about creating a consistent viewing experience -- and a relevant one when we include context about your viewing intentions.
Description and stats areas united:
More specific information about the video you're watching is now in one place on the page: underneath the video. Click on the "Description" snippet or the Views to see more. This new expand capability works on multiple elements of the page so you won't have to learn a new trick to view each piece of data. The result: less clutter, especially on the right side where you look for the next video to watch.
Cleaned up actions bar:
Actions like sharing, rating, saving or flagging a video are now all grouped in one place, with a cleaner, simpler "button bar." We thought a lot about practicality here, choosing to expose only the most commonly used actions and language for you. And, "Playlists" can now be built via the "Save to" pulldown menu.
Simplified binary ratings:
As we noted in an earlier
blog post
, the rating system on YouTube doesn't really work that well (e.g. only the 1 and 5 star ratings were ever really used). So we moved towards a simpler "Like / Don't Like" model. Liking a video will also save it to your Favorites to make it easy to find those videos again.
New player sizing and video quality controls:
We're adding a new size control into the player that allows you to pick a larger size to watch your video (formally above the player). When you pick the size, we'll serve you the ideal quality. For those of you hungry for more control, you can pick the specific video quality (for example, SD, HD or 1080p) in an associated drop-down menu. We'll warn you when we think there may be a better quality choice, but the control is in your hands.
Search results within the page:
Now you can now search while you're watching a video and results will appear on the right side of the video page, without interrupting the viewing experience.
More prominent channel/subscriber placement and a new "see more videos" feature:
Subscriptions are important to many of you, so we've made it more noticeable by moving the "Subscribe" button to the top of the video right near the title. This also gives anyone the ability to quickly peek at more videos from the creator's channel. (Just click on the arrow next to the number of uploads on the person's channel to see more videos from that user.) You've told us that making you hunt for this information on the page is confusing and many of you wanted this data in one place. This should make it easier to discover more content from videographers you like.
So those are just a few things you'll find in this new video page experience. As with all things on the Web (and in life?), change is hard and can take some time to get used to. That's why we did a lot of research, talked with so many of you and incorporated your thoughts into this latest back-to-basics playback page. So go on and
"opt-in" to give it a whirl
, and let us know what you think either in comments down below or enter feedback via
this survey
. Who knows -- you might see some of your own suggestions in future iterations of the page down the road.
Julian Frumar, User Experience Designer, recently watched "
WTF Collective
," and Igor Kofman, Software Engineer, recently watched "
Zion-I featuring K. Flay - "Coastin'" [The Takeover]
."
Cricket LIVE on YouTube
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Howzat YouTubers! In a world first, we're bringing live sport to YouTube. From March 12 you'll have front row seats to all 60 matches of the latest cricket sensation, Indian Premier League, streamed live on YouTube. That's 45 days of cricket fever.
What's more, from Mumbai to Melbourne, you'll be able to go to the IPL YouTube channel (
youtube.com/ipl
) for special on-demand content including full match replays, match highlights, player interviews, wickets of the match, top sixes, pitch reports and much more.
Oh, and we'll be back next year for Season 4. Expect cricket puns a plenty!
Posted by Ryan Hall, Head of Business Development, Google Australia and NZ
Spring Cleaning Comes Early to YouTube
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
The excitement of the new decade and our upcoming fifth anniversary has the YouTube team itching to make the site experience better than ever before. We have all kinds of ideas about new things we could build and launch, but we are also taking some significant time in the coming months to do some early "spring cleaning" on the site design and user experience.
What will this mean to you? Well, it means you'll see some things about the site design evolving to be more consistent across the site. And some things that haven't worked as smoothly as we would have liked them to will get the attention they deserve. Lastly, we may determine that some things we tried out just didn't fly and remove them from the site.
We'll be using a number of inputs to build our "to do" list: usage data that shows the things you use the most versus things that very few people use; usability testing that can help us understand what's broken that needs fixing; and, last but not least, we'd like to hear from you directly...
What would you want to see fixed on the site? What would you remove completely, if you had your druthers? We'll use your feedback to help prioritise what we focus on, so we can all experience a cleaner, easier-to-use YouTube.
Please enter your feedback
here
and/or browse and vote on ideas others have had. We'll take a few weeks to digest your comments and will respond directly to the ideas you're most excited about.
Margaret Stewart, User Experience Manager, recently favorited
"Christmas Tree Rocketry: The Art and Science of Holiday Recycling."
Australia's most watched YouTube videos of 2009
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Today we announced our first official YouTube most watched lists, a look at 2009 through the videos Australians and people around the world were watching and searching for.
From a singer's debut on the world stage, to newly-weds dancing down the aisle, YouTube has offered people a way to share together in both the big and small moments that touched millions of people around the world this year.
And in addition to global content, some great Aussie-generated content attracted hundreds of thousands of views.
Enjoy!
Most watched YouTube videos in Australia
Top five most watched YouTube videos overall:
Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)
I'm On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) - Album Version
Miley Cyrus - The Climb - Official Music Video (HQ)
Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A. - Official Music Video (HD)
Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
Top five most watched Australian-made videos:
Kate Miller-Heidke 'The Last Day On Earth' Official Video
Guy Sebastian - Like it Like That [Official Video]
Jessica Mauboy - Been Waiting [Official Video]
Cassie Davis - Like It Loud [Official Video]
Short Stack - Princess
Top five most watched music videos:
I'm On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) - Album Version
Miley Cyrus - The Climb - Official Music Video (HQ)
Miley Cyrus - Party In The U.S.A. - Official Music Video (HD)
Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow
Pussycat Dolls - Jai Ho
Top five most watched animal-related videos:
Extreme Sheep LED Art
Bizkit the Sleep Walking Dog
The largest dead snake ever found, over 50 feet.
Piranha Devours a Duck
Slow loris loves getting tickled
Instant celebrities thanks to YouTube:
Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)
JK Wedding Entrance Dance
David After Dentist
Greatest freak out ever (ORIGINAL VIDEO)
Inspired Bicycles - Danny MacAskill April 2009
Top five most watched movie trailers:
New Moon Movie Trailer - Official (HD)
Bruno - Official Trailer
Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Official HD Movie Trailer #2 NEW!
'2012' Trailer HD
Paranormal Activity - Official Trailer [HQ HD]
Top five most watched Australian user-generated content:
My Crazy Sister - mychonny
Asian and White Parents - mychonny
Sorry it's been a while - communitychannel
My Victorian Bushfire Campaign - juanmann
Uncomfortable Love Scene - communitychannel
Most watched YouTube videos globally
Susan Boyle - Britain's Got Talent (120+ million views)
David After Dentist (36+ million views)
JK Wedding Entrance Dance (33+ million views)
New Moon Movie Trailer (30+ million views)
Evian Roller Babies (27+ million views)
Posted by Kate Vale, Head of YouTube, Australia and New Zealand
Live on YouTube: Leaders Answer Your Questions in the CNN/YouTube Climate Debate
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Today, at 8 a.m. ET, a panel of world climate leaders, among them former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and journalist Thomas Friedman, will gather in Copenhagen and answer the top questions that you submitted to the
CNN/YouTube Climate Debate channel
.
You can watch them address the issues that matter to you in real-time: We'll be live-streaming the debate at
www.youtube.com/cop15
.
Thank you for making this event truly international. We received thousands of questions from Italy to Brazil, Nigeria to New Zealand. To get a scope of just how many countries are represented, see
this map
, which depicts global submissions through a Google Earth layer.
And if you didn't have a chance to submit a question, but still want to raise your voice about climate change, we encourage you to join the discussion on Twitter during the debate using hashtag #cnnytdebate.
Steve Grove, Head of News & Politics, recently watched "
Please Help the World
."
Learn how to be a gadget reviewer
Thursday, 3 December 2009
With 40,000+ subscribers and a couple of
hit videos
, the folks behind the
phonedog
channel know a thing or two about making popular product-review videos (in their case, mobile phone reviews). In the spirit of the holidays, they've kindly agreed to share their secrets with you, to help the next generation of gadget reviewers rise up on YouTube.
Ask any question you like about how to be an effective gadget reviewer by leaving a comment on -- or uploading a response video to --
this video
. phonedog will review your questions and then make a tutorial video, uploaded around December 15, to help give you your start in this field. Take their advice or leave it, but definitely test it out, particularly on any hot new gadgets you or your friends receive this holiday season. We'll be featuring three of the most promising new reviewers, as selected by phonedog, on the YouTube homepage during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January.
For more details, Noah from phonedog lays it all out:
Mia Quagliarello, Community Manager, recently favorited "
The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody
."
A Live Stream to Save Lives: Alicia Keys and YouTube Team Up to Fight AIDS
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
It's no secret that AIDS is one of the deadliest diseases facing our world today. Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 60 million people have been infected with HIV and 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes. But did you know that some of those hardest hit by AIDS are children? The disease has killed over 2 million children, and in sub-Saharan Africa it has orphaned close to 15 million.
That's why, today, on World AIDS Day, we're partnering with Alicia Keys and her organization,
Keep a Child Alive
, to present a live-streamed benefit concert at 8 p.m. (EST). We're also encouraging everyone to
donate $5
to provide the life-saving medication, support, and orphan care to keep these children alive. Learn more from Alicia herself about this important effort:
You can make a difference today. Please tune in
here
at 8 p.m (ET) to watch Alicia Keys and
donate
to help save the lives of millions of children living with HIV/AIDS.
Michele Flannery, Music Manager, and Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits Manager, recently watched "
The Lazarus Effect.
"
Labels
accessibility
2
australia
3
birthday
2
captioning
1
channels
1
citizen reporting
1
comments
1
competition
6
cooking
1
creativity
6
creators
1
design
2
fashion
1
festival
1
fitness
1
frontrow
1
google+
1
homepage
1
howto
1
improvements
1
IPL
4
journalism
1
life in a day
3
live
3
livestreaming
2
mapmysummer
1
music
12
music moderator katy perry
1
musicians wanted
1
nextup
1
nonprofit
1
partner program
1
playlists
1
product update
4
promoted videos
1
ratings
1
safety
2
SBS sport cycling
1
science and technology
2
sessions
2
sport
2
summer
6
sydney
1
symphony
8
tropfest
1
updates
1
vidcon
1
vivid
1
vlogger
1
your film festival
1
YouTube
24
YouTube Australia Blog
255
YouTube insights
2
youtube music
2
YouTube Partners
2
YouTube Partnerships
2
Archive
2014
January
YouTube Nation: Discover Something Great, Every Day
2013
May
March
2012
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2011
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2010
December
November
October
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2009
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2008
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
2007
December
November
Feed
YouTube
on
Follow @youtube
Follow
Learn more in the
YouTube Help Center
.
Follow